Tiaras have been worn by royalty and commoners alike and, while they symbolize wealth and rank, they are not necessarily an emblem of monarchy like a crown. The design of a tiara is usually semicircular and can be worn on the head in many ways, including low on the forehead or sloping from the top of the head to just over the ears. By contrast, a crown is circular and sits atop the head and surrounds the entire circumference. Both crowns and tiaras are adorned with gems and are made from precious metal but symbolically they are separate and distinct head ornaments. Monarchs can and will wear tiaras, but someone who is not a head-of-state will not appear in a crown. The evolution of the tiara began alongside side that of the crown, in ancient times, and continues on into the twenty-first century.

Antiquity

Since the rise of humankind, we have sought ways in which to decorate and beautify ourselves by wearing items we find attractive. The desire to adorn one’s head with beauty first manifested itself in the creation of wreaths of foliage and flowers. Eventually, these plants began to take on deeper symbolism. In ancient Greece, at the Olympics, the victors were crowned with olive wreaths. Laurel wreaths were presented to champions and myrtle served to symbolize newlyweds. Figures throughout mythology were depicted wearing laurel wreaths. Firmly ingrained in our history, the laurel wreath continues to symbolize scholarship by being awarded to Master’s Degree graduates and the term Laureate refers to those awarded a laurel wreath, such as the Nobel Laureate. The motif continues to be applied in architecture, the arts and graphic design. Military emblems, pins, and many other such items often depict a wreath to this day.

All the symbolism and culture associated with the awarding and wearing of botanical wreaths was translated to a more fixed medium when we began to smelt and refine metals. Through the study of ancient paintings, tapestry, and sculpture, we can see that wreaths soon evolved into crowns, tiaras, and diadems. Few of these ancient tiaras have survived for us to study, but the evidence of their pervasive use is irrefutable. The ancient Egyptians are a prime example. The Egyptian crowns were many and varied in design, shape, and color, their symbolism was critical both politically and religiously. Many artifacts from the ancient Egyptian civilization can be dated and identified by interpreting the crowns depicted on them, as different crowns were favored during different periods.

The term diadem is from the Greek diadein – to bind around. Early Greek diadems were basically renderings of their botanical predecessors in gold, as bands with pediments. Such wreaths were used to adorn shrines and temples and were designed to follow the symbolism of particular gods: ivy denoted Dionysus, laurel for Apollo, wheat for Demeter, goddess of prosperity, olive branches for Athena, myrtle for Aphrodite, and Oak for Zeus. The Etruscans created a more traditional diadem, while the Scythian created a stiff halo-like headdress that evolved into the kokoshnik. The term tiara is of Persian origin and denoted the high headdresses that Persian kings wore in combination with a diadem

The Romans, while emulating the Greeks, were not as skilled in their designs. They were, however, ultimately responsible for the addition of gemstones to enhance the traditional leaves and flowers on diadems and tiaras and they solidified the tiara as an image of imperial authority. Women of rank were rendered in portraits and sculptures wearing golden bandeaux, wreaths, and halos. The fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity combined to drive the wearing of diadems, tiaras, and crowns from fashion. The ancient world became to be looked upon as immoral and all association with it was frowned upon. Tiaras continued to be depicted in art but not actually worn.

Medieval Tiaras

Medieval society set great store by the wearing of head ornaments. Royalty wore pinnacled coronets and rings of leaves, plants and flowers and the dowries of wealthy brides included a jeweled coronal or garland as part of their wedding attire. These ornaments remained popular until the sixteenth century when the aigrette and billiment rose to fashion heights.

Art from this period was disparaged as primitive and, as there was no sense of historical preservation, much of the secular art of the Middle Ages was lost. We are left, overwhelmingly, with religious-themed art that doesn’t necessarily depict society and its attire. One of the few remaining artifacts, The Iron Crown of Lombardy has become the symbol of medieval Italy. There is a narrow band of iron, about three-eighths of an inch wide, on the inside of this crown that is said to have been forged from one of the nails used at the crucifixion of Jesus.

18th Century

Late in the eighteenth-century tiaras returned and the emphasis changed from goldsmith’s renderings of naturalistic botanicals to gem-set creations that were all about the stones, their size and value, and not about the gold work. Classical motifs, scrolls, and hearts alongside natural themes were popular, but this time rendered in diamonds and gemstones. The tiara came to be the most important symbol of wealth and rank for English women and its popularity continues today.

19th Century

Napoleon, emulating the style of Imperial Rome, ushered in the neoclassical revival. When he crowned his first Empress with a tiara as a symbol of sovereignty, the design was a neoclassical laurel wreath rendered in diamonds. Bonaparte saw to it that his entire court linked itself to ancient Rome with classical motif tiaras of laurel, spirals, Greek-key patterns and the like. A popular tiara design included the use of ancient cameos and intaglios depicting classical scenes. One of these created for Josephine raided the royal collection of eighty-six ancient cameos to secure enough for a parure for the Empress. This style was imitated in a plainer version set with contemporary cameos for the less well-to-do.

Napoleon’s second wife, Habsburg Archduchess Marie Louise received even more spectacular jewels and parures that always included a tiara. Women invited to court were expected to adorn themselves similarly and tiaras were considered the best way to display one’s wealth. When the Bourbon monarchs were restored to the throne the custom of wearing tiaras continued.

After the English defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, suites of jewelry for English women also included a tiara. While the classical designs remained, the naturalistic designs of the eighteenth century also returned to popularity in the form of garlands, flowers, bouquets and bows.